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Archive for September, 2008

I couldn’t believe how long it’s been since I last posted. I knew I’d been busy a while, but I didn’t quite realize how long.

The semester’s proceeding well. Nothing negative to say about it. I’m reading some great YA fiction in the YA course, learning about a mind-boggling array of online reference courses in the the reference course (go figure), and engaging in heated IF debate in Intellectual Freedom and Libraries.

I guess the only downside is every evening, after dinner, I disappear into the bedroom to “study.” Ever tried studying while lying prone on a comfortable bed? It results in a lot of forehead gashes from books I drop when I fall asleep. I’ve also ruined three shirts from highlighters I forget I haven’t capped bleeding into my shirt while I’m blissfully unconscious, dreaming Nancy Pearl and I are lunching at a little bistro across the street from the Library of Congress.

But I’m doing well keeping up with things. Granted, taking three courses in a semester is a little nutty (SEE: behavior, usual). I’m snowed under by reading, which to me isn’t exactly torture. And while I have papers to write there are no big, monstrous ones. I can knock off 2- 3 page papers in less time than it takes Barack Obama to work the word “change” into a speech.

This weekend I’ll probably be here at the library, off the clock, books and papers spread out, monopolizing an entire table. I have a short critical essay to write, notes to take for a book review, and at least 100 pp. to read – counting all three subjects.

No biggie.

Hold my calls, but if it’s Nancy Pearl tell her 12:30 on Friday works great for me.

Tough times affect libraries

From Sgvtribune.com:

” It’s an essential element of any community, but the public library is something Kathleen Newe believes most people take for granted.

“Think about it: It’s the only place in the community where everyone is welcome, whether you’re a senior who needs financial advice or if you’re a student, or out of work,” said Newe, a volunteer with the Friends of the Diamond Bar Library for nearly two decades.

There are sport teams, churches and clubs that people belong to, “but the library is the only place where every single person can go and feel welcome,” she added.

“And that’s a really important thing for people to realize.”

It’s an especially important point to consider in light of difficult economic times that have prompted many cities and counties to tighten their budget belts over the years, sometimes at the expense of local libraries. ”

West Point Gets New Library

From The New York Times:

” The library was completed after more than 10 years of planning and construction at a cost of $65 million, and it took a hard fight to get the funds at a time when the military is fighting expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“From the beginning, there were some in the Army who questioned the need” for a new library, said General Finnegan, the academy’s dean, in an interview before the dedication. Those doubters suggested that all the modern technical information a cadet might need was available online. “They said: ‘You already have a library. Students can just go on Google and get what they need.’ ”